Nashville father gets 17 years in federal prison after toddler son shoots himself

A Tennessee judge on Thursday sentenced a Nashville man to 17 years in prison in a federal firearm case that left his 3-year-old son shot in the head just over two years ago.

Kendrick Ross, 29, pleaded guilty in December 2020 to drug distribution and firearms charges stemming from various 2018 and 2019 arrests, according to U.S. Attorney Mark H. Wildasin for the Middle District of Tennessee.

While out on bond on state charges in May 2019, Ross had stolen guns, marijuana and methamphetamine in North Nashville's Cumberland View Public Housing.

And on Sept. 9, 2019, Ross was in possession of a stolen handgun while in possession of methamphetamine, with intent to distribute.

That gun, a Glock .40 caliber, was later found to be the same firearm Ross left unattended at a relative's house. That same day, prosecutors said, the toddler found the gun and shot himself in the head.

The child suffered critical wounds at a duplex home in north Nashville, the Metro Nashville Police Department reported at the time, and was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

The shooting was reported just after 10 a.m. at a home on Village Trail, just off Brick Church Pike. Ross and the boy's mother were in the home at the time of the shooting, police spokesman Don Aaron said.

Prosecutors said that during the shooting investigation, Ross attempted to persuade his cousin to falsely claim that this firearm belonged to the cousin’s dead husband.

“Because of Ross’s continued lifestyle of drug dealing and other criminal activity, an innocent child sustained life-altering injuries,” Wildasin said. “Too often, the reckless conduct of those involved in criminal activity results in tragic, unintended consequences as this case demonstrates."

Natalie Neysa Alund is based in Nashville at The Tennessean and covers breaking news across the South for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at nalund@tennessean.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville father gets 17 years in prison after toddler shot himself